Olympic Hockey: Root for Sweden

Should Sweden win by fewer than 6 goals, the US will grab the top overall seed (this also happens if the game goes to OT). This is very important because Canada and Russia will be on the same side of the bracket, the winner of which will play the 2 seed in the medal round. Also, the 1 seed gets the winner of Switzerland-Belarus, as opposed to Slovakia-Norway (i.e. Slovakia).

EDIT: Clarification-if Finland wins without OT, Finland gets the top seed and the US gets the 2 seed. As Canada is the 6 seed and Russia is the 3 seed, we really do not want to be in that bracket.

It's a matter of the tie breaker. But if you want the US to be the top seed, all you have to root for is an overtime game between SWE and FIN; that would guarantee that the US is the only team with 9 points.

Norway may consider themselves a big rival of Sweden, but they're minnows. Sweden could bring out its B team and easily beat Norway. Finland, OTOH, can go toe-to-toe with Sweden. It should be a great game tonight.

they would really have a favorable draw to get to the gold medal match.

Ryan Miller is the MVP of the game by far. He has kept USA in the game with brilliant goaltending throughout the game. It's clear that Canada has better skill players than USA but Miller has kept them in the game. USA was the more physical team and they deserve to win this game.

Born & raised to be proud of my Swedish ancestry, I'm rooting for Sweden to win by 6+ goals and grab the number 1 overall seed! This is, of course, wildly unrealistic, because Finland is a very good team, and Sweden hasn't exactly been rolling people thus far. Still, anytime you put Nick Lidstrom, Johan Franzen, & company on the ice, you've got a good chance to win. Heja Sverige!

Listen, man, I've been suffering with a hideous, unpronouncable, weird Finnish last name for almost TWENTY-EIGHT years! I'll be damned if I don't cheer for the Fins to beat the Swedes. If that's all I get out of having this monstrosity in all of my signatures, it'll have to be good enough.

The other side of the bracket is brutal with Sweden, Canada and Russia fighting for a medal chance. One of the three will be left out without a medal. Tough for them since three of them are projected to medal in that event.

Czech and Finland as well as USA have to be salivating at the possibility of getting a chance to play in the gold medal match where there's a possible upset.

It could not have turn out better for USA. All they need to do is take care of business and ride Ryan Miller towards the championship game.

Finland is in a much better position than Sweden as a result of losing this game. Both teams have to face dangerous, yet inferior teams in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (presumably in both cases) to get into the medal round, but Sweden will have to play the winner of Canada-Russia, while the worst Finland could get is the US.